New LOD Releases!

Three new LOD releases available now:

http://landofdecay.bigcartel.com/

LOD 030 - T.O.M.B./Blood Rhythms





LOD 031 - The Subtraction - The One Who Infests Ships

A split tape between two dark entities. T.O.M.B. (or Total Occultic Mechanical Blasphemy) is a shadowy collective based on the East Coast who are masters in black ambient ritual music. BLOOD RHYTHMS feature Chicago, IL based noise historian, radio DJ and man about town Arvo and other collaborators including working influential noise artists like Boyd Rice and GX-Jupiter Larsen from The Haters. This is an excellent split cassette of some dark sounds. Essential.




LOD 035 - Kapustin Yar - Trithemius

Bleak and epic soundtracks of abjection. Shivering on an abandoned shore. Watching a hull warp in a caustic wave. Alone where the horizon meets the sea and dissolves. This is a minimal shimmering void. Features Jason Soliday and Omar Gonzalez in this dark incarnation.
Photos by THE SUBTRACTION / Design by Locrian member Terence Hannum.





Nuclear tests and space flight. Echoes in a heavenly void. Hymns to to cupola of our ascent. Dark tinged beauties of epic scale to space and the visitors from it. Extraterrestrial Heavens open, . Featuring a member of Architeuthis Rex. Sublimity.
Artwork by Locrian member Terence Hannum

Friday, August 31st in Chicago: Kwaidan, Sutekh Hexen, This Station of LIfe

Date: Friday, August 31st
Time: 9pm Sharp
Location: Burlington Bar, 3425 W. Fullerton, Chicago, IL
Cost: $7

Facebook Invite

Horseback/Locrian LP Repress

Utech Records has the copies of the Horseback/Locrian LP repress in stock here.

The Locrian store has copies too: http://www.locrian.bigcartel.com

Check it out!

The Locrian & Christoph Heemann LP will be out in a month and the Lps turned out great. Handmade Birds will also have a cd version.

Brooklyn Vegan Debuts Video from Cultus Sabbati

Link here.

You can watch the video below:

Cultus Sabbati - In My Shadow Widows Scream from Cultus Sabbati on Vimeo.

For sale here.

J. Bennett Interviews Cultus Sabbati at Cvltnation.com

Link here.

----------------

Cover of the Upcoming Collaborative LP between LOCRIAN & Christoph Heemann (Handmade Birds)

"cover of the upcoming Locrian with Christoph Heemann release. essential listening."

Cover by Artist SEAN DACK


HANDMADE BIRDS

CULTUS SABBATI track streaming at CVLT NATION

 "What sounds exist in decay? What sounds exist in our silence? What sounds exist in the darkness of nature? I don’t have the answers to these questions, but I know when I listen to Cultus Sabbati these are some on the things that take over my mind. They have just released a new tape on Land of Decay entitled The Hagiography of Baba Yaga which you can purchase HERE. CVLT Nation is stoked to be streaming the Cultus Sabbati track “Never Turn Your Back to the Forest” below. Expand your brain way past the unknown…"

CVLT NATION

thisquietarmy @ BRAINWASHED

"TQA is often considered amongst the multitude of "guitar drone" projects, but like the best examples of that sub-genre, it is anything but repetitious or simplistic.  Instead Phantom Limbs is a detailed and thorough meditation on a single instrument that does not become stagnant, but spends the perfect amount of time to develop and expand on a theme or sound.  This is one of those works that really demand close attention to absorb all the nuance and complexity that lies within...[MORE]" - CREAIG DUNTON / BRAINWASHED

ORDER HERE

GATES, thisquietarmy & CULTUS SABBATI reviewed @ MEATMEADMETAL

"So it was a nice week to get a slew of releases from Land of Decay, a label that is awash with music that can help you escape, chill out, lose your mind, or handle your business. Their most notable band Locrian (who recently signed with Relapse, and whose members own Land of Talk) is one I often turn to when I’m facing a heap of work and want music that’ll keep me motivated and excited but not ready to take off someone’s head with a chainsaw. Another band of that ilk is Toronto’s Nadja, whose dreamy transmissions would sound right at home on Land of Decay. The three releases Land of Decay have ready for you, all in cassette form, can be labeled ambient and drone, but all approach that unique style in a completely different way...[MORE]"

ORDER ALL 3 HERE

GATES "Eintraum" Review @ Antigravitybunny

"I can’t even handle this one, you guys. It’s too much. Absolutely brutal, the best black noise I’ve heard in a long time. Harsh wall of sound that’s dark as fuck, a solid mass of devil drone, furious feedback & blown out riffage that’s caustic and pulverizing. Three tracks, each one with a slightly different vibe. The first is a frenzy, pure Skullflowery chaos, like the black noise version of Love Is A Stream, and buried way down is a Mick Barr style shredding and the occasional blast beat. Then there’s an atmospheric black metal track that takes the most destructive riffs and cranks everything way up, distortion and effects turned into a badass nightmare. The final track is some Sunn O))) blackened doom drone worship, pure fucking evil and depressive beyond belief, massive slabs of static rising up from the depths, apocalyptic feedback crumbling in on itself. This whole thing has an end of days feel to it and it’s the fucking best. Eintraum is definitely one of my favorites this year by a long shot. There’s not enough black/drone right now but Gates are sitting right on top and fucking delivered." - ANTIGRAVITYBUNNY

ORDER IT FROM US HERE

NEIL JENDON in the CHICAGO READER

LAND OF DECAY ARTIST NEIL JENDON IN THE CHICAGO READER.

Winters in Osaka & Plastic Crimewave, Piss Piss Piss Moan Moan Moan, Toupee, Neil Jendon, Personal Injury Lawyer 

 

When: Sat., June 30, 9 p.m. 2012
Price: $6

Neil Jendon has been a fixture in Chicago experimental-music circles for years, playing countless solo shows, appearing sporadically with drone merchants Zelienople, and more recently joining the noisier Kwaidan (with Zelienople drummer Mike Weis and Locrian guitarist Andre Foisy). For most of that time he's just hawked his music himself on CD-R, but now he's finally released an album with better distribution. On Corporate Laughter (C.I.P.) you can hear traces of Jendon's distant musical past as a guitarist in 90s alt-rock also-rans Catherine—"Static After Static" has an old-school industrial flavor, with a dark, pulsing synth line that harks back to the glory days of Throbbing Gristle, and "Always and Only" is essentially a rickety pop song buried under ambient murk—but by and large he's moved on to other interests. The epic opener, "The Morbid Age," juxtaposes calm and violence, colliding sweet, slow-moving synthetic string washes with slashing, seething electronic tones that could've come from Merzbow. The relatively subdued and minimal "Staggers and Folds" balances crawling low-end undulation and what sounds like whale song. Jendon uses hand-tweaked modular synthesizers and outmoded 80s keyboards—all of them heavily processed—and he believes the unpredictability of his gear is a key factor in his sound. "I don't play it so much as manage it," he says. For tonight's show he'll play material similar to what's on Corporate Laughter. —Peter Margasak

Locrian Website

Any updates about Locrian will now be posted to the official Locrian website:
http://www.locrianband.com/

Hook the page up to your RSS feed if you want.

Let us know if you have any suggestions for the website: locriannoise at gmail.com

Vacation

The :Locrian/Land of Decay shipping department is going on vacation. All orders will be shipped out as of tomorrow morning for both Locrian and Land of Decay items. I've sent most orders out with the exception of a few.

I will keep the shop open. Shipping operations will resume on July 15th.

Thank you

-A

Summer Solstice: 3 New Releases

Purchase these here.  

Listen for yourself. They are great releases. 

Artist: Gates

Title: Eintraum

Format: Cassette

Catalog Number: LOD 26

Edition Size: 100 Copies
Release Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012

Track Titles:

Side A/B

1) Glimpse Of Overlapping Dimensions

2) Forest Passageway, Hallway To The Void

3) Birds Plunging Through The Wall Of The Ocean

Artist: Thisquietarmy

Title: Phantom Limbs

Format: Cassette

Catalog Number: LOD 33

Edition Size: 100 Copies
Release Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012

Track Titles:

A1) Phantom Eye

A2) Phantom Brain

A3) Phantom Voltage

B1) Phantom Pain

Artist: Cultus Sabbati

Title: The Hagiography of Baba Yaga

Format: Cassette

Catalog Number: LOD 39

Edition Size: 144 Copies
Release Date: Thursday, June 21, 2012

A1) Never Turn Your Back to the Forest

A2) In My Shadow Widows Scream

B3) The Attestation of Vasilissa

B4) Silver Birch of Amanita Tears

B5) Arch-Crone Bone Mother

B6) Koschei the Deathless

Zero Tolerance on two LOD Tapes!

Pre-order Locrian "The Clearing/The Final Epoch" 2xCD at Relapse

Link here. 

Here's the press release: 

LOCRIAN:  The Clearing/The Final Epoch To See Release

Experimental, dark ambient / noise trio LOCRIAN are set to release their most recent recording (previously available only on vinyl) The Clearing as a 2CD/Digital deluxe album with a bonus disc re-titled as The Clearing/The Final Epoch via Relapse Records.  The second disc contains almost an hour of previously unreleased material containing the band’s signature sound of ominous crescendos mixed with powerful atmospherics and pulverizing tension.  This deluxe reissue, housed in a gorgeous mini “tip-on” gatefold package will see an August 14th release and is available for pre-order now at this location.  

LOCRIAN, located in Chicago, IL and Baltimore, MD has released over 20 recordings on an eclectic array of labels in their relatively short but prolific career, including a recent split with label-mates HORSEBACK.  Additionally, the group plan to enter the studio later this year for their full-length Relapse debut.  

    LOCRIAN is available for interviews upon request. To speak with the band, simply contact bob@relapse.com. Updated LOCRIAN news / album information will be made available at the Relapse Records website: RELAPSE.com and the LOCRIAN Facebook page.

“Plenty of bands play music that sounds dark, but few can make every note bleed black and breathe smoke. Count Locrian as part of that select circle.” – Pitchfork

“Countless musicians have tried to imitate [Locrian’s] brand of dense, blackened experimentalism, but Locrian remains in a class all their own.” – OMG Vinyl

“They access the alienated moods and harsh outlook of metal’s blackest wings in distinct but complementary ways.” – MetalSucks

For Lee Jackson in Space: Out Now

Link here. There's an older unreleased Locrian jam on this. Lots of great artists on this. I believe that we recorded this during the same session that we recorded our remixes for Wilt and Formication. If my memory is correct, then this was shortly after we recorded Drenched Lands.

For Lee Jackson in Space: 90 song digital charity tribute release due June 4th

There's some information about the upcoming release "For Lee Jackson in Space" available at:


http://forleejacksoninspace.bandcamp.com/


Contributions of $30 and higher are welcome.


Discussion and further updates can be found at the appropriate Facebook group

On Twitter, look for the #forleejackson tag.

For further information please contact Ned Raggett at ned@kuci.org

There's an unreleased Locrian track from a few years ago on this. There are lots of interesting artists involved.

Scott McKeating Interviews Number None at Cvltnation.com

Here's what CN has to say: "Land of Decay is a tape label that you can trust to release shit that will numb your brain! Their most recent tape by Number None entitled Strategies Against Agriculture is a testament to how this label is in a universe of it’s own. Created by Chris Miller and Noah Opponent, this tape examines the different textures of feedback bent around various shades of noise! Listening to Number None inspires me to ask questions about the creation of humanity and the destruction of humanity at the same. This is the kind of music that will affect everyone in different ways. This is why CVLT Nation is streaming Strategies Against Agriculture in full below, so that you can find your own meaning in Number None. Also check out the in-depth interview between Scott McKeating below and number none after the jump!" Read the interview here. Order one of the last few tapes here.

LOD 027 Sold Out Too

LOD 027 The Fortieth Day/Sshe Sshe Retina Stimulants/Terence Hannum tape is now sold out too. There are a few places that typically carry our releases: Aquarius Records Crucial Blast Gilead Media Bloodlust! Merz Tapes Check these out!

LAND OF DECAY RELATED: Xeromancy (Zine)

New art publication by LOCRIAN member Terence Hannum.

NEW FOR 2012

XEROMANCY is a conjuring involving the most common machine for zine creation - The XEROX machine. Different spreads are generated by collaging on the bed of the copier making unique pieces in a limited edition.

In XEROMANCY slices of hair cascade across pages and overlap. A divination by way of the Xerox. A translucent prophecy. An oracle that moves beyond its initial location from the head-bang in heavy metal culture and tries to move beyond it toward a more formal investigation.

20 Pages
Color Xerox on Vellum
Inside a custom cut color printed in/out envelope
17" x 5.5"
Edition of 50
MMXII

Since it is such a limited edition please order it here

Anti-Gravity Bunny on Number None Tape

Very nice review from Justin Snow. Thanks! Link here. "Such a shame, this Chicago duo continues to be one of the most under-appreciated bands around. And you may say, “If they’re so under-appreciated, how come you haven’t written about them before?” Well, I have, but for some inexplicable reason, I can’t find the review I did for Urmerica a few years back. I dunno. Blame Google? It’s a strange world. Anyway, Strategies Against Agriculture (yes, it’s a Neubauten reference) is their latest, a tape courtesy of Land Of Decay. Apparently this one’s been sitting in the vaults for a number of years, which is another goddamn shame because this shit is brilliant. Absolute destruction on here, Skullflowery apocalyptic feedback with brief and deeply buried moments of bliss. This is Satan’s tinnitus, a white hot static drone, caustic and penetrating, boring deep into your brain until your vision turns black & red, a maelstrom of electronics, harsh putrid noise without the powerfully violent bursts, a monotonous skullfuck that will make your eyes roll back and see Truth. No reason to skip out on this, and if it’s your first foray into the Number None fold, you’ve got a helluva back catalog to work through.

Ninehrtz UK Reviews Number None

Link here. "Land of Decay have released this long-delayed recording of duo Number None after it was meant to be released on a defunct label in around 2007. The duo of Chris Miller and Noah Opponent (what a name!?) make a blissful, yet foreboding noise on this four-track tape. What is clear is that there is an underlying drone of awareness plaintively spread out below the tape's surface, providing a thin ice-like sheet for the duo to explore various avenues of sound over the top. There's hints of harmonium, wind-like whistles of nuclear winter and an ambient hum that tie it together, giving it an oppressive, 80s documentary feel. It's almost like the synth-led soundtracks to Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker era Dr Who, almost nothing, then sections of horror. You can imagine the Doctor and his assistants hunched up by some polystyrene rocks while a dalek or some hideous mutant walks by. Often, the pulsing notes sound like breathing, a weak, dying giant, giving up the ghost in a freezing landscape, the last of the mammoths perhaps? Intended as a comment on the destructive consumption of humanity, the release reflects the desperate situation not only of hunter gatherers in neolithic times, but also the waste of food we commit daily. In the packaging is a quote espousing the greed of humanity in relation to living off the land, something we all take for granted. The title mimics the Einstürzende Neubauten album title Strategies Against Architecture, but that's where the humour ends. This is a highly affecting release that's intended, it seems, to make you consider how ruination of natural resources has become commonplace in the world." Order here.

Brainwashed Reviews Ithi Tape

Link here. Following up their acclaimed debut LP The Persistence of Meaning, this Brooklyn duo of Joshua Convey and Luke Krnkr serve up another release of dark, mysterious murk that channels krautrock as much as harsh noise. With an A side that goes for more musical elements, and a harsher, disjointed B side, the combination works wonderfully. Land of Decay The A side begins with "Go Forth and Die," initially a slow, brittle drum machine pulse and barely controlled sharp, high end feedback that may or may not be a heavily treated guitar. Buried, almost hidden vocals eventually arise, reshaping the piece with subtle, but noticeable changes. The track perfectly segues into "Roses in the Snow", which is a more ambient piece collected from the disintegrated fragments of the previous one. With its looped, mantra-like structure and continued oddly treated guitar, there's definitely more than a passing resemblance to mid-period Main, with a few extra layers of grime added. On the flip side, the long "NoWhere" shows its dissonant character immediately, with what sounds like a looped computer data tape run through distortion. Slowly, the rhythmic loop becomes more and more complex, with a buzzsaw guitar line and harsher, abstract noise piled atop. It’s a wall of chaotic, glorious noise that stretches out for nearly 15 minutes, while never losing that pulsing lurch below it. With the first half of this tape demonstrating the duo's more musical exploits, and the other letting the feedback and noise fly, the balance between the two is perfectly struck. The first two tracks especially come across brilliantly with its obscured vocals and melodic throb, but the noisier piece is no slouch either. For a project that's still relatively young, Ithi has already proven themselves quite ably.

Locrian & Mamiffer "BTTCY" Japan CD

We have a few copies of the Japanese CD version of the Locrian & Mamiffer album.

This is the Profound Lore version in a plastic bag with a sticker with Japanese writing on it. There is also an additional insert in the CD with a Japanese description of the release and some additional information about the two projects.

This was released by Daymare Recordings.

We have a few copies here.

The Inarguable on LOD April Releases

Link here.

Brainwashed also reviewed the Eolomea and Kwaidan tapes here.

OMG Vinyl on New LOD Releases

Link here.

"Land of Decay has got 4 new tapes up for sale in their webstore, along with two Locrian-related tapes that you definitely need to pay some mind. Newly minted on the LOD imprint are Ithi, Number None, The Fortieth Day/Terence Hannum/Sshe Sshe Retina Stimulants and Wraiths. The release of this batch pushes the catalog numbers firmly into the 20s, and the overall din and aesthetic feels much like a label hitting their stride. I won’t go into great detail about each release, they deserve exploration, but if you care to dig deeper, Hammer Smashed Sound did a pretty fantastic writeup of these last week, and you can stream a song from each tape below. Also up in the LOD distro are new tapes from Eolomea and Kwaidan, both featuring Andre Foisy from Locrian; and both equally worthy of your attention. So peck around a little, find something you like, but if we had one suggestion for you: it would be to just go ahead and buy all six of these tapes at landofdecay.bigcartel.com."

Old Photos of André Foisy Performing With Number None (The Number None)

I found these old photos of when I performed with Number None at the Fugue State festival a few years ago.







These tapes are selling steadily! Get one here while you can.

Adhoc.fm on Wraiths

You'd better be quick if you want one of these tapes because they are going fast.

I was barely able to get on the el today with all of the orders going out.

Thanks for everyone for your support.

Link here.

Oh yeah: Locrian Sale

We also put some Locrian releases on sale in our webstore:

http://www.landofdecay.bigcartel.com

This stuff will only be on sale until Saturday.

Land of Decay April 2012 Update

Artist: Wraiths
Title: Edinburgh/Glasgow
Format: Cassette
Catalog Number: LOD 020
Edition Size: 100 Copies
Release Date: Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

Track Titles:

Side A) Edinburgh

Side B) Glasgow

I first heard of Wraiths in 2009, after they released their beautifully packages “The Grey Emperor” CD on At War With False Noise. It was amazing to hear the range of sounds on the recording give the fact that they only use found and restructured equipment, location acoustics, and human vocals to make their music. Apparently, during their live sets, Wraiths wear monastic robes and identity cloaking masks. According to them, all of their recordings are made live as well.

This release is made up of two live sets: Edinburgh, and Glasgow. These recordings are disturbing, bleak, and hypnotic. This is improvised, experimental music made by masters of their craft. The dynamics in the release let the group lure the listener in just enough to Pierce You From Within (to quote the title of my favorite Suffocation album). This release is cold and murky. Wraiths are masters at their craft.

















Artist: Number None
Title: Strategies Against Agriculture
Format: Cassette
Catalog Number: LOD 023
Edition Size: 100 Copies
Release Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Track Titles [Program Repeats on Both Sides]:

1) Vile Gnarl
2) Viagra/Lunesta
3) ID-Vision
4) KKKamera

Number None is a duo of Chris Miller and Noah Opponent. This group were some of Locrian’s early supporters and we were particularly inspired by their performances when they played regularly around Chicago. This recording was originally scheduled to be released on the now defunct American Grizzly label (in 2007/2008, I think). We were elated to find out that this amazing group had some material remaining in their vaults.

Using many instruments (analog synthesizers, violin, harmonium, found sounds, and other sources) processed through myriad effects pedals and digital patches, the group created sounds that Scott McKeating, one of the music critics that we highly respect, described as “where even open-ended words like ‘free’ and ‘drone’ are limiting.”

I will never forget walking into one of the Free Monday night shows at the Empty Bottle in Chicago in mid-2005 on a whim. I walked in and saw two guys with instruments and pedals sprawled over the stage making sounds that were mesmerizing. Some of these sounds much more punishing and interesting than any of the metal that I was listening to at the time. Watching Number None on this night was a musical turning point for me that helped to inspire the two of us to start Locrian and now, the Land of Decay label. For that reason, we can’t tell you how excited we are to release this tape.

The title of the release pays a tongue-in-cheek homage to Einstürzende Neubauten’s Strategies Against Architecture and also points to the social inequalities and human caused environmental destruction that were brought about by the Neolithic Revolution, or when humans started growing our own food. [For more information on this, check out John Zerzan’s “Agriculture: Demon Engine of Civilization."] Although humans have lived as hunter-gatherers for most of our existence as a species, fewer and fewer people in the world are able to live this way. At the same time, there are more and more of us—7 billion and snowballing. [Get it? The population of hunter-gatherers tends to increase very slowly over time and the population of agricultural and industrial agricultural societies tends to increase rapidly over time.] Since the end of World War II, humans have used up more of the planet’s resources than all of humanity before that time! “Strategies Against Agriculture” is a testament to the limits of our civilization and the world that we live in.

To me, this album is one of the most inspiring and thought provoking that we have released on our label. The problem of our time is a cultural problem and there is no simple solution. “Strategies Against Agriculture” helps to put the problem of our epoch into perspective, but it provides no solutions, and that’s what makes it so unsettling.

You can pick up some of Number None’s older releases here.




















Artist: Ithi
Title: Within
Format: Cassette
Catalog Number: LOD 024
Edition Size: 100 Copies
Artwork/Design: Shawn Convey
Release Date: Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

Track Titles :

Side A) Go Forth and Die, Roses in the Snow

Side B) NoWHere

When I first heard that Luck Krnkr of Servile Sect and Joshua Convey, two of my favorite musicians around, had started the Ithi project last year, I tried not to expect anything from them. Certainly, I would be let down if I were to expect anything. Their album “The Persistence of Meaning” (Utech Records 2011) was one of the releases that I listened to most frequently. Demian Johnston called it a “huge chunk of grim, belligerent krautrock.” Sadly, this release didn’t get the attention that it deserved last year.

Even since this first release, Ithi have moved on to really embody their voice. This album is really intense, but entirely listenable. The release is cold, dark, and distant. It’s definitely some of the strongest stuff that I’ve heard from these artists. The synths create loops that are harsh, yet soothing and Krnkr’s chanted vocals are distant, ethereal and drenched in reverb. Oh and the group covers “Roses in the Snow” from Nico’s “The Marble Index” album. How can you go wrong here?

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that Ithi will be the band to watch in 2012/2013. Don’t miss this release!

















Artist: The Fortieth Day/Sshe Sshe Retina Stimulants/Terence Hannum
Title: S/t
Format: Cassette
Catalog Number: LOD 027
Edition Size: 100 Copies
Release Date: Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
Art& Design: Terence Hannum

Track Titles:

1) Surveillance
2) Efficiency
3) Ectomorph
4) Surface
5) Intermodal
6) Transportation

This release marks the rare, one-time only, collaboration of The Fortieth Day, the Chicago duo of Mark Solotroff and Isidro Reyes (also of influential power-electronics group Bloodyminded), Sshe Sshe Retina Stimulants (the solo project of P.NG5361.B, or Paolo Bandera, a founding member of Sigillum S), and Terence Hannum. The recording took place during a late night session at WLUW on Loyola University’s campus for Phil von Zweck’s “Something Else” radio show on November 29th, 2009.

The group created these six tracks live using guitar, bass, synthesizers, and vocals. The live recordings were then processed in Milan, Italy by P.NG5361.B. The group uses these instruments to create burned out industrial drones made up of looped feedback, percussion throbs and the sounds of machines dying. Hypnotizing repeating layers tactfully shift into blasts of angular high-pitched mechanical frenzy. There are implicit melodies in the chaos. Strong material from this unique collaboration.

LOD 020: Wraiths (excerpt)

Here's another excerpt of one of the tapes that we'll have out tomorrow. We're really excited for this batch!

Excerpt from LOD 023: Number None

Coming on Tuesday!

Foxy Digitalis on LOD 022: Servile Sect

There are a few more copies of this tape available here.


"Servile Sect has expressed a number of very varied incantations, but have you ever wondered where they got their start? Land of Decay has been gracious enough to offer us a sampling of their beginnings with this unheard re-release of their demos from six to seven years back. Side A is entitled “Manifesting Starships to Destroy the Vatican.” It is exactly what it’s called, a sci-fi/horror soundtrack. The entrance is an eerie psy-fi drone that leads into a slow funeral dirge of black metal amplified ambiance. The slow riffs churn with a hate cloud of reverb and feedback. Long syllabic shrill vocals harshly hit the ears. It’s like Sunn O))) with fiery utterances. It all settles down with some amped-out drones that seem to pulsate and quiver at a snail’s pace like a cadaver hooked up to some voltage played at slo-mo. It’s like a calm after the storm. Side B picks up with “Nouranihar,” an intense black metal excursion that borders on psych with its trance-worthy repetitive riffage and astral effects. All that fades for some guitar that beckons toward the night with a howling series of chords. You can just feel the shadows envelop you. The second half of the track is “Kings of Saturn.” This mostly consists of some gobbledly-gook transmission that has been broken down into audible snow. I can just imagine this manifested visually into little cubes with various rapidly-shifting lights and motions displayed within each box. It sounds like some kind of communication from the beyond that is roughly coming through. Overall, it makes for an uncomfortable atmosphere. A setting of high-pitched guitar loop substitutes and steps into place. It creates its own broadcast as though responding back to the cosmic message.

I feel as though I have entered even further into the enigma that is Servile Sect. They are undoubtedly a one-of-a-kind duo that puzzlingly originate their own sound and style. Sure, they have obvious influences and cues, but they reinvent themselves and the genres in which they work time and time again. Penetrating further into their mystery has only left me scratching my head again. How do these boys do it? A great tape that is the missing link between what these guys have been doing and every other artist that works in black metal, noise, psych, and drone. We can hear how they got to where they are now. These demos aren’t too far from where they are now at all, but they aren’t quite as developed as their later releases will be. Servile Sect will always be one of the most exciting experiments today, partially because of their aura of unsolvable mystery.

Their inscrutable nature pulls through even in the presentation of this tape. Kevin Gan Yuen (Sutekh Hexen) is the brain behind the art and design. He also put together the art on their LP, “Trvth.” He has done a marvelous job on both releases. They each have very menacing and evil artwork that are tamed by the psychedelic colors and shapes as well as intergalactic imagery. The sinister and the prismatic that are hybridized in song are carried into the splashed illustrations. The tape is a pretty awesome green with gold imprinting that continues the honeycombed pattern found in the art. Limited to 100. Seriously, this is a must!"
-Dave Miller

Regarding the New Land of Decay Releases and Fortieth Day/Sshe Sshe Retina Stimulants/Terence Hannum Streaming

Our next batch of tapes will be out next Tuesday.

You can check out a track from the Terence Hannum/Fortieth Day/Sshe Sshe Retina collaboration below:



This track is called "Surveillance."

We have set aside a limited number of these releases for distributors. Please get in touch if you would like to get copies of this release, or our upcoming releases (Ithi, Number None, and Wraiths) for distribution.

Get in touch here: landofdecay@gmail.com

Pictures of Locrian Performing in Toronto

Thanks to Bryan Bray from Gates for the images!

Coming Tuesday April 10th!

This is the best looking batch of Land of Decay tapes so far!

RIP Lee Jackson

Texas bsaed music writer Lee Jackson recently passed away.

It's a tragic loss. He was a great supporter of experimental music who wrote for his own website, Womblife, and others like Foxy Digitalis.

BrooklynVegan Chicago on Kwaidan and Locrian

"Kwaidan will headline a show at the Empty Bottle TONIGHT (3/26). Kwaidan is a new project that features the talents of Mike Weis (Zelienople), Andre Foisy (Locrian), and Neil Jendon on drums, guitar and synth respectively. The 100% FREE show will also feature a stellar lineup of local favorites including appearances from Winters In Osaka (who have a new split with Fossils), Trevor de Brauw (of Pelican/Chord), and Dead Dragon Mountain (9:30 start time). Kwaidan recently released a new cassette via Accidental Recordings and you can stream a snippet of that below."

More here.

Invisible Oranges Interview with Locrian

Here's the other half of the conversation (over beers) between Locrian and Jamie Ludwig at Invisible Oranges.com.


----------------

"When two of the most innovative groups in heavy music today — Chicago-based avant-garde trio Locrian and Seattle art/drone duo Mamiffer — announced they were teaming up for a studio collaboration, the resulting album, Bless Them That Curse You (Profound Lore/SIGE/Utech), quickly became one of the earliest “most-anticipated” releases of 2012 among fans of experimental and extreme music.

Comprised of co-founders André Foisy and Terence Hannum, along with percussionist Steven Hess, Locrian has been challenging listeners with concoctions of ambient noise, black metal, extreme electronics, and free jazz (among other styles), since 2005. Locrian certainly don’t seem to lack either creativity or industriousness, having produced upwards of 25 releases, often packaged in limited editions and in a variety of formats. Their fourth and most recent full-length, The Clearing (Fan Death), was released last fall to critical acclaim.

Mamiffer is the project of husband-and-wife duo Aaron Turner (whom you may remember from such acts as Isis and House of Low Culture) and Faith Coloccia (former Everlovely Lightningheart). Mamiffer’s 2008 debut full-length, Hirror Enniffer (Hydra Head) was an otherworldly exploration marked with unfamiliar, often uncomfortable pairings, such as a simple, clean piano melody layered over a menacing cloud of grey fuzz.

Produced by Greg Norman at Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago, Bless Them That Curse You contains many harsh, noise-laden, epic moments, but its overall tone is one of beauty and grace, wrapped in a darkness that feels more questioning than foreboding, and more mysterious than dismal. Although the material was largely improvised in the studio, the album sounds as though its members had been crafting music as a single unit for years.

Just days before the album’s February 28 release date, I conducted a lengthy interview with members of Locrian. For the rest of the interview with Foisy and Hess about the making of the record and the unique experience of collaborating with relative strangers, visit my blog, Uneasy Listening.
— Jamie Ludwig"

Link here.

Locrian at Uneasy Listening: "I WANT TO BE SMEARED. I WANT TO BE NOT SO CLEAR"

Steven Hess and I recently spoke with Jamie Ludwig who started a great new website called Uneasy Listening. This turned out to be one of my favorite interviews that we've done. Here's an excerpt.

Link to the entire interview here.

"I’m hanging out with Locrian’s André Foisy at The Map Room in Chicago’s Bucktown neighborhood, waiting for drummer Steven Hess to arrive when he tells me that a recent night out with friends has left Wang Chung’s “Everybody Have Fun” stuck in his head for days. Rather than being frustrated, or even hateful of the mental loop, Foisy says he’s rather enjoying the 80s party hit and even sings the chorus for emphasis. This makes me laugh because a) it’s Wang Chung, and b) enthusiasm for this particular track is not what I expect to hear from a dedicated experimental musician who plays in a band more known for exploring the outer reaches of noise, drone, heavy metal, ambient, and avant-jazz than it is for new wave. At the same time, given its non-adherence to convention, and its knack for successfully blend seemingly incongruous elements together, if Locrian announced its next project was a collection of dance covers not only would I not be surprised, but I’d be eager to hear it too.

Foisy (guitars, Arp Avatar, electronics) co-founded Locrian with Terrence Hannum (vocals, synthesizers, piano, organ, Mellotron, and tapes) in 2005. Despite periodic collaborations with other musicians, the band remained a two-piece until recruiting Hess, an accomplished drummer who also performs with Haptic and Pan American, among others, just before recording its third studio album The Crystal World (Utech, 2010).

Each band mate has his hands full juggling musical projects, work, relationships, and in Foisy’s case, managing extreme music label Land of Decay, but as a group, they are especially prolific. In just over six years, Locrian has produced upwards of twenty releases that encompass varying musical textures, moods, and instrumentation, and are often delivered in limited editions or multiple formats.

Hannum relocated to Baltimore in 2011, a move which might seem disruptive to an outsider but which hasn’t slowed Locrian down a bit. Since the summer of 2011, the band has released three albums including New Dominions (Utech), an evocative split LP with psyche/drone metalist Horseback, a critically-acclaimed, genre-defying fourth full-length, The Clearing (Fan Death), and Bless Them That Curse You (Profound Lore/Utech/Sige/Land of Decay), a sparse, graceful collaboration with fellow experimentalists Mamiffer (Faith Coloccia and Aaron Turner).

What’s more, Foisy and Hess tell me over pints of exotic beers (Hannum, being across the country, was unable to join us), they’ve just been signed to Relapse Records and plan to record their next full length later this year. Relapse will also re-release The Clearing on CD and packaged with a bonus disc as The Clearing/The Final Epoch. Cheers to you, Locrian! Our interview follows."

LOCRIAN: Sign To Relapse Records

Here's an announcement from Relapse. What do you think about this?

----------------

Relapse Records is extremely proud to announce the signing of experimental, dark ambient / noise trio LOCRIAN. LOCRIAN formed in late 2005 and consist of André Foisy (Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Arp Avatar, Electronics), Terence Hannum (Vocals, Synthesizers, Piano, Organ, Mellotron and Tapes) and Steven Hess (Drums, Electronics). The group, located in Chicago, IL and Baltimore, MD has released over 20 recordings on an eclectic array of labels in their relatively short but prolific career, including a recent split with label-mates HORSEBACK.

LOCRIAN plan to enter the studio later this year for their full-length Relapse debut. Furthermore, this summer Relapse will reissue the group’s most recent vinyl only release The Clearing as a 2CD/Digital deluxe album with a bonus disc re-titled as The Clearing/The Final Epoch. More details on the reissue and the new album will be available shortly.

André Foisy commented on the new collaboration with Relapse:

"It's really an honor to be working with one of the labels that we grew up with and a label that's put out such a wide variety of material that we love. We plan to record our full-length album for Relapse later this year with Greg Norman at Electrical Audio in Chicago."


P.S. Be sure to pre-order the new Horseback album from them. It's sure to be awesome!

Chicago Reader on Kwaidan Show 3/26/2012

Link here.

Kwaidan, Winters in Osaka, Trevor de Brauw, Dead Dragon Mountain
When: Mon., March 26, 9:30 p.m.

In their own projects, drummer Mike Weis (Zelienople), guitarist Andre Foisy (Locrian), and synth player Neil Jendon explore long tones, drones, and textures, so it's hardly a shock that as the local trio Kwaidan they'd twist those same elements into yet another exquisite permutation. Their new self-titled cassette for Accidental Guest Recordings—recorded live at their first show, in December at Impala Gallery—is a single totally improvised 37-minute piece. Weis ebbs and flows, riding an insistent two-hit kick-drum figure and working over his cymbals and other metal objects to create hovering sizzles, terse pings, and resonant scrapes; Foisy's output is sometimes recognizable as a guitar, especially when he plays moaning figures that recall Loren Mazzacane Connors, but often his effects-heavy washes could be coming from just about anything that plugs in. Jendon's hypnotic drones can also be mystifying as to their source—he's a guitarist too, and at first I thought he'd appeared in that role here. He makes chameleonic noises with his homemade synthesizer, which at times blend into the shimmering of Weis's cymbals and at others mesh with Foisy's shape-shifting guitar. —Peter Margasak Winters in Osaka, Pelican guitarist Trevor de Brauw, and Dead Dragon Mountain open.

Gossip Wolf on Kwaidan Release and Show

You can find out information about the show here.

Transmissions V

Italians! Go see Steven Hess play w/ Pan American. More information here.

Re: Ordering - New FAQ Page

We now have a Frequently Asked Questions page on our bigcartel site. Check it out!

LOD Update

So we will have four new tapes available next week. We promise!

I just got the covers for these so they are finished.

More news on these soon!

BTTCY 2xLP

A few last copies of the 2xLP at Utech Records.

Magnet Magazine: What Record Are You Most Looking Forward to Next Week

Ha!

Interesting selection of artist? Why are we there???

Rock-a-Rolla Feature on Locrian

This is in the new issue of Rock-a-rolla. This is one of the best print magazines around and you should subscribe to them.

Make sure that you "Like" them on Facebook here too!

Release Update

Land of Decay, Sige Records, and Utech are all out of the 2xLPs of the Locrian & Mamiffer album.

The tapes are selling quickly so act fast if you want one of those.

If you would like the 2xLP, then you can get some from Thrill Jockey.

Apparently Brave Mysteries is almost out of the Eolomea tapes as well. I recommend that you pick up a copy from them rather than waiting for the Land of Decay shop to get any since almost all of my copies of that are spoken for already.

Thanks to everyone for your orders. I know that Keith Utech and I have been slavishly packing up orders every day.

The workers at the post office hate me more than ever!

André Foisy's Mixtape for Cvltnation.com

Check it out here.

Some of this stuff will be released soon on Land of Decay.

Sige Records Sold Out (at least temporarily) of the Locrian & Mamiffer 2xLP

We have a few more copies in the Land of Decay shop.

Another Update

Brave Mysteries (Madison, WI) just released the Eolomea tape (Andre and David Reed) and it's for sale now here.

They've got some other new releases that I allegedly very good as well.

Land of Decay will have a few copies of this release for sale soon.

Ordovician from Aleks Slota on Vimeo.

Eugene Robinson (Oxbow) interviews Locrian & Mamiffer for Brooklyn Vegan

Link here.

Thanks for Eugene and Fred!

Bless Them That Curse You 2xLP On Sale Now

Hey everyone,

Thank you for your enthusiasm for the Locrian & Mamiffer album. The tape edition is running very low and will be sold out very soon.

I just received the 2xLP version. I've received a bunch, but I'm only putting as many on sale as that I can possibly carry with me to the post office tomorrow.

I'll put more on sale as I can handle.

We have some of the clear and some of the brown vinyl. We did everything about this record with people we trust so the end price is a bit more than we hoped, but I think that you'll appreciate the album when you get it.

Jason Ward at Chicago Mastering Service did a great job mastering the album and cutting the vinyl. We also got a good pressing from the plant so this sounds and looks awesome.


http://www.landofdecay.bigcartel.com

Utech Sold Out of Locrian & Mamiffer 2xLP

Act fast at Sige records if you want a copy of the Locrian & Mamiffer 2xLP.

Utech Records has sold out of it already.

We're still waiting for our copies in Chicago....

Ordering Update

These Locrian & Mamiffer tapes are selling really fast.

If you are from outside of the U.S. (Europe) and tried to order the album to no avail, then please try again. Our bigcartel settings were incorrect and anyone from certain parts of Europe that tried to order the album got an error message.

Everything is fixed now.

Thanks for everyone for their orders. All of them went out this morning.

I'm expecting the 2xLP of the album any day now...

Distro Update

I decided to put the tapes and cds of the Locrian & Mamiffer album on sale today. You can get them at the store: http://landofdecay.bigcartel.com/

More stuff coming soon. I still don't have the 2xLPs.

Tiny Mix Tapes Interview w/ Locrian & Mamiffer

Link here.

Thanks to Nathan at TMT!

Update and Stuff

Steven and I met with Jamie Ludwig from Uneasy Listening last night at the Map Room.

We drank some great beer. Apparently, it's the only place in the city that has unfiltered Stiegl. Look for an interview posted on Uneasy Listening soon.

Also, Utech Records has the Locrian & Mamiffer 2xLP album for sale now here: http://www.utechrecords.com/Releases3.html

Profound Lore should have the CDs for sale later today at: http://www.profoundlorerecords.com/

Land of Decay will have copies of this stuff for sale soon, but I'm waiting on my tape covers for the next Land of Decay releases to arrive. I'm planning to have everything up for sale on March 6th.

Kwaidan @ Empty Bottle Chicago w/ Trever De Brauw and Winters in Osaka 3/26/2012

Link here.

Kwaidan (André Foisy, Neil Jendon, Mike Weis) will be performing our second show at the Empty Bottle on Monday, March 26th with Winters in Osaka and Trevor De Brauw (Pelican).

The show will start at 9:30pm and it's free! It'll be great to play with the nice fellows in Winters and to see Trevor De Brauw play, what I believe, will be his first solo show.

This should be a fun show. Kwaidan will have a tape coming out soon on the new label that Sean from Fan Death Records is starting called Accidental Guest Recordings. The tape is a live recording of our first live show in early December 2011. We'll be recording for a split LP with High Aura'd right before this show with Greg Norman, the engineer who did an amazing job recording the Locrian & Mamiffer album.

Locrian &Mamiffer Interview at Blackened Slugs

Link here.

There's also an article about us in the new issue of Rock-a-rolla.
Apparently we're in the one with Corrosion of Conformity on the cover. Check it out!

Locrian & Mamiffer Tape Images

Faith slaved away at this package and the tapes look amazing!

It's Coming Soon....

Eolomea Video by Aleks Slota Live Now!

Here's a video that Aleks Slota made from one of the tracks from the upcoming Eolomea release (André Foisy and David Reed) that will be out later this winter on Brave Mysteries. The video turned out really great!

Ordovician from Aleks Slota on Vimeo.

Daniel Menche Interview Locrian at CvltNation.com

Check it out here.

Word Sound and Power are all alive in this very thought altering interview/conversation between Daniel Menche, Mamiffer and Locrian. It should be noted that this was Menche’s first time very coming up with questions for someone to answer and from my point of view they were honest and induced some really real answers from Mamiffer and Locrian. Actually the words you are about read have very special quality about them and it’s CVLT Nation’s honor to share them with you. So after the travel into the minds of Daniel Menche, Mamiffer and Locrian…Bless Them That Curse You.

Live Video from This Weekend

You can check out a live video of André Foisy's performance this weekend at the co-prosperity sphere with Sun Splitter, Rabbid Rabbit and One.



Here's Sun Splitter's great set:

Sat. Jan. 28th in CHICAGO: Ono, A. Foisy, Sun Splitter, Rabbid Rabbit

I almost forgot about this show until now. I'm playing on Saturday in Chicago with some great bands. Come and check it out if you can.

New Track Stream from Locrian & Mamiffer Album

Check out "Corpus Luteum" from the upcoming Locrian & Mamiffer album at Cvltnation.com


As far as I know, the CDs are almost finished and the test presses for the 2xLP version were approved so everything is on schedule. Nice.

CvltNation Mixtape and Cleared (S. Hess) Tour

Brave Mysteries just released a mixtape on cvltnation that features a track by Eolomea (André Foisy and Davie Reed). Download it now and check it out! I totally missed this until now.

You can find the tour dates on Steven's Tumblr site.

Also, if you're in the area, then be sure to check out Steven Hess's group Cleared on tour soon.

Locrian and Mamiffer Photo by Rik Garrett

Here's a photo from Rik Garrett.

This will be out very very soon. Read about it at Profound Lore.

KFJC Broadcast of Utech Records Fest 2xCD

You can order a 2xCD of the KFJC broadcast of the Utech Records Festival now. There's some great stuff on there and here's what's on the release:

CD A
Ithi "Go Forth and Die"
RM74 "Followed by a Swirling Cloud of Smoke"
Ural Umbo "Telescoped"
William Fowler Collins "Walk Calmly in the Outer Darkness"
Gog "Labyrinth in Perfect Black"
James Plotkin/Jon Mueller TBA

CD B
House of Low Culture "Perverted Scripture"
Mamiffer "Cloey/DeadSettlers"
Locrian "The Crystal World" "Elevations and Depths"
Horseback "The Invisible Mountain"

Keith Utech, Aaron Turner and Viral Graphics did the artwork and it looks really amazing. All of the sets at the fest were amazing so you'll definitely want to pick this up.

Order here and support a great radio station.

Profound Lore Announces the Locrian & Mamiffer Collaboration

Link here.

Stream a Track from LOD's Upcoming Release: Ithi "NoWhere"

Link at Brooklynvegan.com


Check it out! If you're around NYC then check them out at St. Vitus on 1/14!

ITHI - Go Forth and Die by brooklynvegan

André Foisy "Seven Thrones" on Bandcamp

I decided to put my "Seven Thrones" release that Twilight Luggage originally released on bandcamp since it's been out of print for a while.

Check it out here.

Pictures of the Locrian & Mamiffer 2xLP: GET EXCITED!

Here are some early images of the 2xLP of the Locrian & Mamiffer album.

Amazing design and white gloves courtesy of Faith Coloccia!

Aidan Baker "The Spectrum of Distraction"

Steven Hess played on the new Aidan Baker album "The Spectrum of Distraction."

Other guests include: David Dunnett, Thor Harris, Rich Baker, Bruno Dorella, Victor Cirone, Jakob Thiesen, Ted Parsons, Kevin Emil Micka, Mac McNeilly, Simon Scott on drums (+ others). Artwork by Matt Smith.

Get it here.